My time in the NFL as a fan has been an interesting one. I watched the games for so many years, rooting for my favorite teams, and often hating my least favorite ones. From the celebrations of my favorite team’s wins to the agonizing agony of defeat of my least favorite, these experiences created deep impressions — and the most hated teams that I’ve encountered are no exception.
For me, the most hated team in the NFL was the New England Patriots. Since my parents were born in Massachusetts, these lovable villains were the team my family supported when I was growing up, and although I’m a native New Englander, the Pats were by far my least favorite. I never really could stand the braggadocious attitude of the team and their fans, and their usual domination of the league was extremely irritating.
Another strong contender for my most hated team was the New York Jets. I can’t even count the number of times I watched my team lose to the Jets, and the heartbreak of defeat at their hands was almost too much to bear. Beyond the on-field success, the Jets were always a focused media attention, shouting out at every turn serving as further fuel to my fire of hatred for them.
I also despised the Oakland Raiders. There was just something about their eye-catching uniforms combined with their magnetic “bad boy” reputation that made them easy to loathe. And the powder keg of controversy that seemed to attach to them, both on and off the field, only served to further charge my disdain for them.
And of course, the Pittsburgh Steelers. I can still remember the crushing feeling of watching them come up short every time since the mid-1970s when I was a kid. It didn’t help that the Steelers had been one of the most successful franchises in NFL history during that time. I guess my hatred for them was that they were too good – when the Pittsburgh Steelers were on the field, it usually meant my team was in trouble.
The last hostile squad on my list of despised NFL teams is the Atlanta Falcons. Not only did the Falcons come from my beloved home state of Georgia – where I went to college – but they were often more successful than my favorite teams. Adding insult to injury, the Falcons had the audacity (in my mind) to defeat my favorite team in the Super Bowl in 2017. So yeah, my disdain for the Falcons goes deep.
Overall, my journey as an NFL fan has been filled with highlights and plenty of lows, and the teams I mentioned here were certainly some of the worst of the lot. While I can’t say that I like any of them, I must respect their accomplishments as NFL powerhouses. But regardless of how successful these teams are – or how much I begrudgingly respect them – they will always remain my all-time most hated NFL teams.